Rumor: SS Thorfinn wrecked in Pohnpei

Wetpixel received an anonymous email with a rumor that Truk Lagoon's SS Thorfinn is wrecked in Pohnpei:

The Thorfin has an engine room filling up with water. It came into Pohnpei and loaded up 70,000 gallons of used oil from PUC and there were not enough pilots to have one come aboard on the way out. A pilot was on each of the two ships leading the way and the Thorfin was following the two lead ships and went on the reef yesterday.

A tug boat from Adams helped keep it upright during the night but after the high tide at 3a.m.; it was not able to get it off the reef. Adams is standing by now with a barge to pump out the oil if called upon to do so. At this point there is not way to save the ship. It is about one mile from the dock and in my estimation will not hurt anything if it goes down where it is located at the moment.

Interesting - I'm not a salvage expert (OK well maybe I am) but I can offer an opinion here. If the vessel is aground upright with that much freeboard exposed (as seen in the photos), and the 12" hole/gash can be plugged from the inside, a few people onboard with pumps can dewater and float the ship. Then it needs to be towed to a drydock for a structural inspection and repair.

If the gash is not in a fuel oil tank then the ship should not pose an immediate environmental threat - as long as it is salvaged quickly. This is not an easy operation, but with the right equipment can be done in a few days.

This is what they do all the time with tugboats that sink in shallow water.

Cheers
James

FYI - the probable reason there is still a crew-member onboard the Thorfin is that once the crew all leaves the vessel can be salvaged by anyone and then the law of the sea kicks in. :-)

Just saw the photos myself, what a bummer. I agree with Mike here, not a lot of help out in Micronesia, but as James said, if there is no oil leak from the hole in the engine room, with a few pumps, some towels, a couple of cut-up wetsuits, a few 2x4's and a big bucket of Splash Zone, old Lance can plug that hole, pump the water out and hopefully find a way to get that vessel off the reef. As far as limited supplies go, he can find them all on that island, that is for sure.

<_< I would not believe a word of anything posted CDNN, ESPECIALLY about the Thorfinn, which has been rated the #1 live-aboard in the world for as many years as they have been paying off CDNN to not publish the truth. Sorry, but they are just not a reliable source for any real news.

<_< I would not believe a word of anything posted CDNN, ESPECIALLY about the Thorfinn, which has been rated the #1 live-aboard in the world for as many years as they have been paying off CDNN to not publish the truth. Sorry, but they are just not a reliable source for any real news.

Hmmm, you obviously don't like either CDNN (which I can understand, to an extent) or the Thorfinn.

Yes, the Thorfinn has an idiosyncratic Captain, but in my opinion that just makes him an interesting character and I get on pretty well with him as a result. Personally I don't need fawning and Lance quite certainly does not fawn - he is "take it or leave it" and I, for one, can respect that.

At least the Thorfinn doesn't hook directly into the wrecks, a sin I consider far worse than her (questionable) reputation.

Cheers,

Christian

There is nothing more certain in life than taxes, decompression theory and death- CG

Hmmm, you obviously don't like either CDNN (which I can understand, to an extent) or the Thorfinn.

I have nothing against the Thorfinn except that they have for years supported the illegal and unethical practices of CDNN to promote their own cause. Its pretty obvious that they have a long way to go before they are even close to being a top rated live-aboard operation.

My point was that you cannot believe what CDNN publishes on their website.

I have nothing against the Thorfinn except that they have for years supported the illegal and unethical practices of CDNN to promote their own cause. Its pretty obvious that they have a long way to go before they are even close to being a top rated live-aboard operation.

My point was that you cannot believe what CDNN publishes on their website.

I have something against the Thorfin. I spent a week at the mercy of captain Lance & his misbegotten crew once. It's the one of the worst weeks of my life. Lance is an arrogant jerk and the crew are slovenly hostile lagabouts. If this saves future customers from them then it is a good thing.